Author: Rick Riordan

 Book Project By: Steven T

Class: HLA7

    Rick Riordan is the author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, as well as the Heroes of Olympus series. He was born in San Antonio, Texas on June 5, 1964. Rick Riordan lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and his two sons Haley and                     Patrick. He is currently working on Magnus Chase                                  and the gods of Asgard series. 

    Rick Riordan got the idea for the Percy Jackson series
 when his son Hayley asked him to tell bedtime stories
about the Greek gods and heroes. When he ran out of                                   myths his son was disappointed and asked him to                                       create something new with the same characters.                                               He then made up Percy Jackson and his quest to                                         recover Zeus' lightning bolt in modern day America. 

    The Protagonists of The Blood of Olympus are the Greek gods, and the demigods on the Argo II. Reyna, Coach Hedge and Nico are also very important protagonists in the story becuase they are transporting the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood to stop the war between the Greek and Roman camps. 

    Percy is a powerful demigod whose father is the Greek god Poseidon. Since his father is Poseidon he can control water, breath underwater, and even stay dry underwater if he wants to. He is currently in a relationship with Annabeth Chase. His weapon is the Riptide; a pen that when   uncapped becomes a sword. Percy has recently defeated the Titan Kronos, survived Tarturus, and now he is on a quest to stop the giants from awakening Gaea the Earth Mother. 

    Jason is a Roman demigod whose father is the Roman god Jupiter. He is the former praetor (leader) of New Rome. Moreover, Jason is a vicious fighter and he never gives up. Jason can use his abilities to fly and occasionally summon lightning bolts. He is currently in a relationship with Piper McLean. Currently Jason is on the Argo II on a quest to stop Gaea from waking.

    Leo is a funny demigod whose father is the Greek god Hephaestus. He loves to tell jokes, even if they aren't funny. He can summon, control and is immune to fire. Furthermore, Leo has amazing mechanical abilities even for a child of Hephaestus. As a matter of fact he built the Argo II and repaired Festus his bronze mechanical dragon. Leo plays a crucial role in defeating Gaea.

    Frank is a Roman demigod, whose father is Mars. He is a skilled archer, but he is still a good swordsman. Since Frank is descended from Periclymenus he has the power to shape shift into animals. Frank's life is tied to a piece of wood, if it burns up Frank will die. Juno gave it to Frank because he is a son of Mars and he has the ability to shape shift into animals. He is currently in a relationship with Hazel Levesque.

    Annabeth is a daughter of Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom. She loves architecture and spends her free time designing new buildings and visiting national monuments. Also, she is titled the Architect of Olympus. She is very afraid of spiders or anything in close resemblance to spiders. However, Annabeth is very smart and able to outwit any of her enemies. She prefers to use her mind rather than use her weapon against her enemies.

    Piper's mother is Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She has the gift of charmspeak, allowing her to influence others with enhanced persuasiveness. She can see things far away in her knife Katoptris. Her father is a famous movie actor; Tristan McLean. Piper also plays a vital role in defeating Gaea.

    Hazel's father is the Lord of the Underworld Pluto. Unlike most children of Pluto she has the power to summon precious metals from the ground. She is also skilled in fighting with her Spatha(A Roman cavalry sword) on the back of her horse Arion. She learned to manipulate the mist(a magical barrier preventing mortals from seeing monsters and gods) and perform magic from Hectate.

    Reyna is the daughter of Bellona the Roman war goddess. She was born in San Juan. Reyna is one of the praetors of New Rome. Also, she is a fearless fighter who has the ability to share strength and courage to her friends and allies. She crossed the Atlantic on her own on the back of her Pegasus Scipio. Going back to the ancient lands is forbidden, but Reyna is willing to lose her rank to prevent a war between the Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. 

    Coach Hedge is a satyr who was the baseball coach at Wilderness School. He was assigned to chaperone the Argo II on its journey to the Acropolis. After, Coach Hedge assists Reyna and Nico in transporting the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood. His wife is Mellie a cloud nymph. Even though he is a satyr he has very limited nature magic skills. Instead he believes in the concept of survival of the fittest. Hedge is very overconfident, leading to him constantly attack anyone he comes across. 

    Nico is the son of Hades; he has many powers including raising zombies to aid him in times of need. He often intimidates other demigods as he is dark, gloomy and the fact that he is a son of Hades. He has taken the hardest task of all; transporting the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood. However, shadow travelling the distance from Greece to Camp Half-Blood in such a short time span may mean sacrificing himself. 

    The main antagonist of the Blood of Olympus is Gaea the Earth Mother; who threatens to destroy the world if she wakes. Her children the Giants plan to awaken Gaea by spilling the Blood of Olympus in the Parthenon in Athens. Once the blood is spilled Gaea will wipe out the demigods' camps and shortly after she will attempt to kill the gods. 

Setting:

    The Blood of Olympus takes place in mid July 2010 to early August 2010. The location of the story varies, but it mainly takes place in Greece. Nico, Reyna, and Coach Hedge travelled to may places including: Pompeii, Italy; Évora, Portugal; A cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic; San Juan, Peurto Rico; Buford, South Carolina and finally New York.

The Argo II's Journey through Greece:

Ithaca

Olympia

Sparta

Delos

Epidaurus

    Jason, Piper, Leo, Percy, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel are on the Argo II and they need to make it to the Acropolis to stop the Giants from awakening Gaea the Earth Mother. Jason, Annabeth and Piper sneak into Odysseus’ Palace to learn about the Giants plan to stop them. They find out the Straits of Corinth are heavily guarded and they should subdue Nike in Olympia. After tying up Nike who told them about the Physician’s cure they set out to find the ingredients. Pylosian mint from Pylos, the chained god’s heartbeat in Sparta(The Makhai), and the Curse of Delos. After seeking Apollo for advice, they head to see his son Asclepius the god of healing who creates the Physician’s Cure for them. Then, they head toward the Parthenon for the final battle.

    Meanwhile, Nico, Reyna and Coach Hedge, are trying to get the Athena Parthenos statue back to Camp Half-Blood to prevent a war between the Greek and Roman camps. Until, the war ends the gods will be suffering from multiple personality disorder and will unable to help the demigods. They are being hunted down by Orion the hunter giant. They arrive at Puerto Rico after a close encounter with Lycaon the first Werewolf, and meet the Hunters of Artemis and the Amazons who used Reyna as bait to try to trap Orion. Later, Reyna’s big secret is revealed and Bryce Lawrence overheard and ordered her to be trailed, but Nico turned him into a ghost and disposed of him before he could do anything. After, turning Byrce into a ghost Nico was knocked out for three days. Pegasus the king of flying horses comes to help fly them back to Camp Half-Blood. 

"Hey, I’m a Poseidon kid,” he said. “I can’t drown. And neither can my pancakes. " -Percy Jackson

“The ruins stretch from the river to the base of that mountain over there, about half a kilometre.’ 
‘How far is that in regular measurements?’ Percy asked. 
Frank rolled his eyes. ‘That is a regular measurement in Canada and the rest of the world. Only you Americans –’ 
‘About five or six football fields,’ Hazel interceded, feeding Arion a big chunk of gold. 
Percy spread his hands. ‘That’s all you needed to say.”

“Correct." Kekrops sounded bitter, like he regretted his decision. "My people were the original Athenians--the gemini."
"Like your zodiac sign?" Percy asked. "I'm a Leo."
"No, stupid," Leo said. "I'm a Leo. You're a Percy.” 

“I suppose you want me to give certificates to all the contestants? Little plastic trophies to every single athlete or soldier for participation? Should we all line up and shake hands and tell each other, Good game? No!” -Nike the Greek goddess of victory

I chose these quotes because I like how Rick Riordan added jokes into the Blood of Olympus. I find that without humour and the jokes the Blood of Olympus is not as entertaining. The jokes also help lighten up the mood a little.

    I noticed two themes in the Blood of Olympus: Friendship and Sacrifice.

Friendship:  

    The quest would have been impossible without friends.Without Reyna's support Nico would have fallen in Mount Vesuvius along with the Athena Parthenos. If Piper didn't comfort Annabeth in Sparta, Annabeth would have never made any progress. If the Hunters of Artemis, and the Amazons didn't slow down Orion the Athena Parthenos would not have made it to Camp Half-Blood to stop the war. All in all friendship was very important to the story line and the characters of the Blood of Olympus. 

Sacrifice:

    Victory often needs sacrifice whether large or small. Firstly, the giants had to sacrifice the blood of Olympus to wake Gaea. Secondly, Nico didn't mind sacrificing himself to stop the war between the camps. Piper had to sacrifice her cornucopia to free the Makhai. In conclusion, sacrifice was very vital to the plot of the Blood of Olympus.

The Athena Parthenos:

    The Athena Parthenos had to be shadow travelled across half the globe, as an act of truce between the Romans and Greeks to prevent a war. It represents that fighting is not always the answer. 

The Physican's Cure:

   The Physican's Cure will revive one member of the Argo II who is destined to die.

The Prophecy:

    The Prophecy represents that the crew of the Argo II can not avoid fate. The Prophecy has to happen. Someone has to die in order for the demigods to defeat Gaea. 

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.

To storm or fire, the world must fall.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death"

Mood:

    I find that it is very hard to stop reading the Blood of Olympus because of its quick exciting pace and the cliffhangers. The occasional jokes help lighten up the mood. Overall, the Blood of Olympus has just the right pace and the perfect amount of cliffhangers and jokes.